Fighting Demons
by TheDimensionOfWords
Summary: A collection of Batfamily drabbles prompted by the song Demons by Imagine Dragons. None are really connected. My first time writing for this fandom, so please pardon any errors.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: By no means do I own the rights to Batman or Imagine Dragons.**

_When the days are cold_

_And the cards all fold_

_And the saints we see_

_Are all made of gold_

Breath misted from masked faces. Bruce glanced over at Dick from their perch overlooking a bank receiving fresh mint. The boy was shivering, but trying so hard to hide it, being brave and strong, the R on his chest shining gold. He shifted unknowingly under his mentor's gaze, but kept his eyes on the bank.

But when coughs shook the young boy harder than his shivers, Bruce reached an arm out to encircle his shoulders to make sure he didn't slip from the edge. With no hint of the worried emotion that he felt, Bruce said in his normal, gruff voice, "Doesn't look like anyone is planning to pull a scheme tonight. Let's head back to the cave."

Dick just nodded, and made no protest. This worried Bruce more. Shooting a grapple in the direction of the Batmobile, he scooped up the ten-year-old and swung them down. No words where exchanged as Bruce set Dick down in his seat and settled his cape over the boy wonder, who slipped into sleep almost as soon as they started driving.

When they made it home, Bruce gently scooped up the boy, and swooped pasted Alfred, giving him only a nod to say Robin was unharmed. After placing the boy in bed, Bruce slipped off his shoes, cape, and mask. Leaning down to pull up the blankets, mumbled words made him pause.

"Thanks, Dad," Dick said, calling Bruce by that name for the first time.

Smiling gently, Bruce found he liked it, much better then Bruce, and maybe more than Batman.


	2. Chapter 2

_When your dreams all fail_

_And the ones we hail_

_Are the worst of all_

_And the blood's run stale_

"MOM!" he woke up screaming, his voice that of an adult and not his child self. It rattled him every time, going from the reality of that night to whatever one the world had moved onto.

"You okay Bruce?" This worried voice was new though. Looking over, he eyes met the concerned blue eyes of Barbara Gordon, her Batgirl cowl cradled in her lap.

Rubbing a weary hand, still encased in his glove, over his face, Bruce brought himself back to reality. They were in a hotel, watching over an embassy meeting being held in Gotham. Barbara was currently on watch, seated at the window and surfing the web, looking for any sign of trouble.

Shifting his eyes he found Dick in his Nightwing costume, curled to one side of one of the two king-size beds that dominated the small room. His mask was crooked, but his face relaxed in that of deep, dreamless sleep.

On the other of the bed sprawled Tim, cape and mask thrown over a nearby chair. His face twisted every once and a while, reveling he was not as lucky in his dreams as his brother, but more than his father.

"I'm fine," Bruce said, sitting slightly stiffly from the couch that had become his bed. The second bed's sheets were ruffled from where Barbara had been sleeping before taking over from Dick.

She gave him an unbelieving look, but shrugged. "We all have our demons. I have forgotten the last time I had a normal dream…" Her voice faded, head turning to gaze out the window.

Bruce came to stand on the other side, arm leaning against the frame. "Sometimes I'm not even sure if I ever have had one," he admitted quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

_I want to hide the truth_

_I want to shelter you_

_But with the beast inside_

_There's nowhere we can hide_

Sometimes, all he wanted to do was hide them from this life. From the villains, from the liars, from the corrupt law keepers, from all of the insanity and injustice in this world. Watching young shoulders sage under the weight of such adult knowledge, he had watched the last innocence drain from young forms.

And as much as he wanted to protect them from it all, from the horror he had endured, it was usually far too late. He found himself standing at the graves of parents not his own, watched young children cry for what they never should.

So he helped them pick up the pieces the only way he knew how. To fight for justice, to fight so there would never be another child feeling the pain that stains the rest of one's life.

But it didn't rest with his heart any easier.


	4. Chapter 4

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come_

_This is my kingdom come_

Gotham had become his kingdom in a way, only he knew how to read its secrets and bring justice. Standing on a roof top, the Batman was the emperor of the night. Looking out the windows of his office, Bruce Wayne was the king in the daytime.

And more often than not, he found himself hating it. Hating to see his own reflection, as if written on it was every life he failed to save. Most other men would adore the power he had, but him? He _loathed_, even more so on the odd moments when it did take precedence.

But he then reminded himself of a line in a book he had overheard Barbara reading to Cassandra when they were teaching her to speak. "It is because you loath the power you have, that you are the perfect king."

And so he excepted his role, even though there was a voice telling him that was the vainest thing to do of all.


	5. Chapter 5

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

Diana kept glancing at him, eyes asking for something he could never give. Not to her, at least. It was not a new development, but it had kept growing. And he could not deny the fact that it was getting harder for him not to give her what she wanted.

But she had hardly ever seen him without his cowl that hid his eyes. And in his eyes resided the broken being he really was. He lived with those eyes staring at him from the mirror, he knew better than anyone what resided in them.

But then he realized that was far from true. The people he worked with, his makeshift family of broken or lost souls that somehow united into a whole, they saw his demons and he saw theirs. Together the demons were battled, even if those battles were rarely won for long.

Alfred, the man who had become his father, knew him the best. Dick and Barbra no doubt came in second, having known him longer than the rest. Bruce had no doubt that his ever-growing band of heroes would slowly figure out the way he ticked as he learned their secrets as well.

But Diana? She was not made for the world that he resided in. All she felt was the heat, the passion that permeated the work he and his family did. The dedication and the good. She did not see past the front to the dark that resided within.

_Don't get too close_

_It's dark inside_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_


	6. Chapter 6

_When the curtain's call_

_Is the last of all_

_When the lights fade out_

_All the sinners crawl_

Why Gotham was the breeding grounded to some of the foulest filth of the current remembrance? was a question most of the cities inhabitants asked every day. It had them rushing home, living always with that tremor of fear. They were far from heroes, but they were also above the scum that tried to spread over their pond of fear.

And why would anyone live within that misery? the rest of the world sits back and thinks. Some people can't get out; this can always be said when watching the horror inflicting other people's lives. But when you live with that fear, it dulls. What does not dull is the need to say, "I love you", every chance you can, for it very might be your last. Maybe it is for that one blessing the city as not turned to one hosting only ghosts.


End file.
